Secondary battery.



No.4647,085. Patented Apr. '10, |900. H. S. GLADSTONE.

SECONDARY BATTERY.

(Application filed Jzm. 2, 1900.; (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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I Patented Apr. I0, |900.

H. S. GLADSTONE.-

SECUNDARY BATTERY.

(Application tiled Jaxx. 2, 1900.)

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l l a l l I l l l l l l I I I I `iT-nD STATES PATENT FFIC,

HAROLD As'rEUART eLADsToNn, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

SECONDARY BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 647,085, dated April 10, 19O. Application iiled January 2, 1900. Serial No. 77. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom zt may conce/"n:

Be tknown thatI, HAROLD STEUART GLAD- sTONE, electrical engineer, a resident of 34 Brechin Place, South Kensington, London, S.

l W., England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Secondary Batteries, (for which an application for patent has been filed in Great Britain, dated March 15, 1899, No. 5,642) of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an improvement in secondary batteries, and has for its object to produce a battery having a low internal resistance and `capable of a high rate of discharge without liability of disintegration of the active material or buckling of the electrodes. f

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, wherein- Figure l is a sideelevation, and Fig. 2 an end elevation, of a cell, the casing and portions of the electrodes being broken away in both views in Order to better show the construction. Fig. 3 is a plan View, partly in section, of the cell with the cover removed. Fig. et is a sectional side elevation of a single member of an electrode, and Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the same.

The electrodes may be made in the form of a grid-like structure composed of parallel members separated by narrow intervals and united at the ends to connecting-bars, or the members -may be used separately as independent electrodes. Each such memberA is formed of a liattened tubular envelop a, of perforated sheet-lead, inclosing the active material l?, in which is embedded a central core-strip c, also of perforated sheet-lead, provided with means of attachment to the top and bottom connecting-bars el, as hereinafter described. The envelop ya is made of sheet-lead which has been perforated by punching rows of small holes 'c--say from three-sixteenths to three-eighths of an inch in diameter-in it as close together as is consistent with structural strength and is formed by lapping the perforated sheet metal about a mandrel and made into a complete tube of the required flattened sectional form by burning together the abutting edges of the strip by autogenous solderconnection with the terminal of the cell.

ing. The central core-strip c is also of sheetlead perforated as before and has cast upon its ends lugs f, of lead, which project from both sides of the strip so as to fit in the tubular perforated envelop a, so as to maintain the space required for the active material between the core and envelop, the ends of the core c and lugs f being ush with the ends of the envelop. Upon both sides of the core-strip c the active material b is applied in the form o f paste, the paste being packed onto the strip in a mold so as, by completely filling up the perforations g of the core-strip, to make good conductive'contact therewith over the entire surface of the strip, including the lateral surfaces of the perforations by which the area of contact-surface is greatly increased. The layers of active material b fill up the whole of the spaces be tween the end lugsfof the strip c on both sides to a thickness uniform with that of such lugs.' The pasted or coated strip is then placed within the perforated envelop a, and when a member thus constituted is to be used separately as an independent electrode the end lugsfof the core c are burned or united by autogenous soldering to the en velop. When, however, a number of members so constituted are to be united by connecting-` bars to form a grid-like structure, as shown in the drawings, such burning or soldering of the lugsf to the envelop a is not required; but the ends of the lugs and the ends of the envelop (which are filled up or closed by the lugs of the strip, so as to prevent the active material falling out) are in the oase of each member filed iiush or smooth, and the series of members A, which are made of uniform length, are assembled in requisite numbers to form an electrode or plate. For this purpose the members A are placed edge to edge at suitable intervals apart and are connected at top and bottom by bars d of lead containing a small percentage of antimony or other alloy, to which their smoothed ends are united, by autogenous soldering or burning on, so as to make a rigid structure or plate of grid-like form and insure good conductive union with the connecting-bars, of which the top one is provided with the usual lug h for series of such grid-like plates may be combined to form an electrode, the plates being arranged parallel to one another at suitable intervals apart and connected together, as shown in the drawings, by means of bridgevpieces t', burned onto the lugs h. In this case the plates forming, respectively, the positive and the negative electrodes are disposed alternately, so as to face one another, the bridge-pieces z', connecting, respectively, the positive and the negative elements being preferably at opposite ends of the cell, as shown, and having each a tang j, adapted to pass through the cover 7e of the cell for attachment to the conducting-wire. The adjacent positive and negative elements are held apart, preferably by means of diaphragms Z, formed o'f corrugated sheets of perforated vulcanite or other suitable material, andthe ent-ire series of elements rests upon ribs or barsmof insulating material, so as to afford access of the electrolyte to all portions of the electrodes, the arrangement as a Whole being exceedingly compact and presenting a very largeAactive surface Within a relatively-small space.

l. An electrode for secondary batteries consisting of a flattened envelop of perforated sheet-lead, a mass of active material inclosed by said envelop, and a central core embedded in the active material and consisting of a strip of perforated sheet-lead having end lugs of lead which serve as distancepieces to maintain the space for the active material between the core and the envelop, substantially as specified.

2. An electrode for secondary batteries consisting of a grid-like plate formed of la series of flat bar-like members juxtaposed edgewise at suitable intervals apart and connected together at top and bottom by bars of lead; each such bar-like member consisting of a flattened envelop of perforated sheetlead, a mass of active material inclosed by said envelop, and a core embedded in the active material and consisting of a strip-of 'perforated sheet-lead of the same length as the envelop and having end lugs of lead which serve as distance-pieces to maintain the space for the active material between the core and envelop substantially as specified.

3. An electrode for secondary batteries series of iiat bar-like members juxtaposed edgewise at suitable intervals apart and connected together at top and bottom by bars of lead; each such bar-like member consisting of a iattened envelop of perforated sheetlead, a mass of active material inclosed by said envelop, and a core embedded in the active material and consisting of a strip of perforated sheet-lead of the same length as the envelop and having end lugs of lead which serve as distance-pieces to maintain the space for the active material between the core and envelop, substantially as specified.

4. A secondary battery in which the positive and negative electrodes consist each of a series of grid-like plates forming elements arranged parallel to one another, the positive and negative elements being disposed alternately so as to face one another at intervals apart maintained by means of perforated diaphragms of insulating material as described; the elements of the positive and of the negative electrodes being respectively connected by means of bridge-pieces of lead burned onto the top bars of the grid-like plates; keach such grid-like plate being composed of a series of flat bar-like members juxtaposed edgewise at suitable intervals apart and connected together at top and bottom by bars of lead; each such bar-like member consisting of a attened envelop of perforated sheetlead, a mass of active material inclosed by said envelop and a core embedded in the active material and consisting of a strip of perforated sheet-lead of the same length as the envelop and having end lugs of lead which serve as distance-pieces to maintain the space for the active material between the core and envelop substantially as specified.

Signed by the said HAROLD ST1-:UART GLAD- STONE this 13th day of October, 1899.

HAROLD STEUA lt'l GLADS'IONE.

In presence of- R. S. JoHNsToNE, C. A. FRASER. 

